Beating a dead horse - "original" paint scheme

[N1VSM]

I'm happily at the point in my engine rebuild to start considering colors of paint. I'm not a purist (if you'd seen my truck, you'd know why.)

Having looked through the archives, I've found this much about the "as delivered" colors for an Army truck like mine. Correct me if I'm wrong:
engine & tranny, silver (more like cast iron /gunmetal gray?) (except for red oil tube cap)
if it bolts to the engine, black (like distributor, carb, starter ...)
if it bolts to the firewall/fender, etc, OD (in my case: Army)
frame & drivetrain, black

So here's what I'm confused about:

following that, the air cleaner housing should be black, but I just picked up a never-installed fording shroud and it is OD. Is this because was a non-factory item?

Does that mean that a PTO would have been delivered silver?

Is the transfer case silver?

Are all the driveline components black? I'm having a hard time imagining a black driveshaft between the tcase & tranny.

What about the winch? Are we talking silver PTO, black driveshaft, & OD winch?

I realize that one trip to the depot usually resulted in everything being OD green. So - any input?

[SierraM37]

I went with black frame, axles and springs. Plan to have the drive shafts painted black as well. Had the rims done in the same black and will OD when I'm at that point.

My Transfer was OD - Haven't repainted it yet but likely OD as well.
The Transmission from my donor truck was OD, the engine block and bell housing silver but it was redone prior to my acquisition. All accessories are black but the manifolds are presently white, which I don't like, but it runs so I'll go through the engine and pretty it up over time.

Donor truck also had the Winch and it was black, likely going OD.
Donor truck's lat life was AF Blue but there is OD underneath all that.

The inner fenders skirts are black on donor.

[N1VSM]

My engine was OD green under all of the goop. The rebuild plate says 1969, but I know that means very little ....

I just removed (what I think to have once been) a data plate in the cab & found WWII OD green under it. I haven't scraped through it to see if it is one of the "bottom" layers of paint. Did any of the Army M37's roll off of the assembly line in the pre- semigloss OD? I do have a rather low S/N ...

Maybe I should paint in an 1970's inspired ochre/avacado/burnt umber theme ...

[WarrenD]

You could go with a Vietnam theme, Tigerstipes....

[Murf]

As for the air cleaner fording shroud mine is gloss black...that is out of it's cardboard box-packed in the original sealed wooden crate. My stacks and hardware are green.

The thing that is quite often forgotten is that different companies produced different components. What they used as a color (sometimes just a primer) isn't what the trucks rolled off the assembly line-ready for delivery to the govt in. I saw a black and white video of a plant making military trucks and on the assembly line. At the final stage, but with no tires, was a guy spraying the final green on and under the entire truck. The assembly platform was elevated about 3 feet-which allowed him to get under the truck also. So something like a black frame delivered to dodge was turned to o.d. before it was finished.

[MSeriesRebuild]

I wouldn't sweat the paint scheme as any one you described could be considered correct.

Just a tip here. You mentioned an air cleaner fording shroud, paint isn't critical, but this is. The shroud is not meant to be installed all the time, here is why. The air cleaner has a screened air inlet opening all the way around the circumference of the top. The shroud only has one small inlet tube where the stack hose hooks up. This chokes down the air flow to the carb significantly, puts a real damper on fuel economy and causes the engine to run rich when it is demanding peak air flow. Long story short, it starves the engine for air. If the stack and hose are connected, it just grows worse. It is not a good thing to run your engine with this stuff in play, it was designed for temporary installation only when fording. It needs to be stowed away during all other operations.

[M-Thrax]

"Chrysler Silver" was the original color of the block
But if it was me I'd go with 24087 and lots of yellow cad!!

But thats just me

[img][img]http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/43861/1033159256033732824S600x600Q85.jpg[/img][/img]

[N1VSM]

I wouldn't sweat the paint scheme as any one you described could be considered correct.

Just a tip here. You mentioned an air cleaner fording shroud, paint isn't critical, but this is. The shroud is not meant to be installed all the time, here is why. The air cleaner has a screened air inlet opening all the way around the circumference of the top. The shroud only has one small inlet tube where the stack hose hooks up. This chokes down the air flow to the carb significantly, puts a real damper on fuel economy and causes the engine to run rich when it is demanding peak air flow. Long story short, it starves the engine for air. If the stack and hose are connected, it just grows worse. It is not a good thing to run your engine with this stuff in play, it was designed for temporary installation only when fording. It needs to be stowed away during all other operations.

Charles, thank you for continuing to share your experience & wisdom with us weekend knucklebusters! I'd never considered the air restriction of a fording shroud. I'll leave it stowed - especially since I don't have the flex or straight pipes (yet).

[cuz]

Did any of the Army M37's roll off of the assembly line in the pre- semigloss OD? I do have a rather low S/N ...

It most likely was OD2430 which was the 4 digit paint code in use from 1950 thru 53 and was used till about 54/55 when 24087 became the new Army Semi-Gloss OD. The closest matching off the shelf color is Gillespie's 23070.

[MSeriesRebuild]

A side note,
My personal preference for engine color is OD. In my mind the silver just doesn't look nearly as nice, almost looks out of place when you raise the hood. Of course we do whatever colors the customer specifies, and I don't offer input with colors unless I'm asked for my opinion, or unless I see a problem of some type with their first choices. OD semi-gloss with black accessories looks sharp in the M37. Now I might be a little more inclined to say silver in a civilian power wagon, but it really isn't my first choice there either. The Cummins engines we use are titanium black, (Cummins color) when we get them new, however they leave a lot to be desired with their paint jobs, they mainly just hit the high spots leaving lots of bare metal behind components, etc. We pull all the accessory items off and paint it right using Cummins supplied paint. Ours come out with a nice glossy titanium black finish where the factory paint has a dull finish with lots of over-spray issues, (looks as if they don't mix the paint correctly or something) that doesn't make customers happy to see drab looking paint on the engine in a really nice truck. Hot items such as exhaust manifold and turbocharger housing, exhaust elbows, etc get glass beaded, baked to remove any oil from the castings, and ceramic powder coating. I've yet to see any of that burn off, change color, or flake at all, it's available in 3 colors from my powder coater, black, cast iron gray, or aluminum. Also performs great on all the exhaust system tubing, mufflers, and other components. Is there for the duration, no rust throughout the system's life.

[Nickathome]

My frame and engine were left in their natural state of rust and dirt. I only conentrated on the outer body when it came time to paint. Mine will never be an award winner so it didn't matter.

[N1VSM]

My frame and engine were left in their natural state of rust and dirt. I only concentrated on the outer body when it came time to paint. Mine will never be an award winner so it didn't matter.

Funny - mine will never win awards either. I started with the visible metal when I first got my truck - used rattle cans to get it all one color. Less likely to run into public relations problems with the DMV, police, neighbors, etc. (I stopped counting after finding 10 different visible colors ... not including rust). At some point, I plan to do all of the metalwork, but that is low on my list.

I'm now working from the inside out - I want my truck mission capable. I'm having the engine rebuilt, and I'm looking to have all of the rebuilt components outlast me & my kids (and their kids), both inside & out. So, the engine paint is one of those "it's clean & prepped - let's do it right" things.

[Rusty S.]

I wouldn't sweat the paint scheme as any one you described could be considered correct.

Just a tip here. You mentioned an air cleaner fording shroud, paint isn't critical, but this is. The shroud is not meant to be installed all the time, here is why. The air cleaner has a screened air inlet opening all the way around the circumference of the top. The shroud only has one small inlet tube where the stack hose hooks up. This chokes down the air flow to the carb significantly, puts a real damper on fuel economy and causes the engine to run rich when it is demanding peak air flow. Long story short, it starves the engine for air. If the stack and hose are connected, it just grows worse. It is not a good thing to run your engine with this stuff in play, it was designed for temporary installation only when fording. It needs to be stowed away during all other operations.

That situation never dawned on me. I have had a fording shoud in place for as long as I have owned the truck. It will come off this weekend. Thanks for the technical input. It is very much appreciated.

RS

[Cal_Gary]

That is one nice picture, M-Thrax!

[Lifer]

What color your engine is "supposed to be" depends entirely upon its age and branch of service. All engines were painted Chrysler Silver at the factory. After that, what color it was painted was a decision left to each individual branch of our armed forces. In the Air Force, for example, they were left the factory color until it was necessary to repaint them. Repainting only became a "necessity" after a depot-level overhaul, at which time they were to be painted gray.